Machine for covering pies.



A. H. BRAVECKLEIN.

MACHINE FOR comma PIES.

Patented May 21,1918.

:w m 9' m 0 D M N 0 n A W H P A 4 SHEEISSHEET I.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. H. BRAECKLEIN.

MACHINE FOR covaams ms.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9, ISIS.

Patented May 2], 1918.

f 3 4 4 I I r, H M I Qmjll E w x ,bv-fiig o I I U- 9 msvv "mana es, P I

MWW

A. H. BHAECKLEIN.

MACHINE FOR COVERWG PIES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9. 19's.

Patxanted May 21,1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

mgw w w.

A. H. BHAECKLEIN.

MACHINE FOR covsmue PIES.

PF C T 1,266,913. A Li A ION FILED OCT 9 I916 Patented May 2],

4 SHEEIS-$HEEF 4- !filliIIIIIIIlIIllllllIIlllIIllIlllllllIllllIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIINH is a specification.

ALFRED H. BBAECKLEIN, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

uacnnm m covname PIES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1918.

Application fled October a, 1m. Serial no, mages.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that a citizen of the U nited States of America, and resident of the city of Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Covering Pics, of which the following The formerly existing unsanitary conditions as to various (products of bakeries have been recognized an to some extent remedied as by the wrapping of bread, the distribution of cakes and crackers in sealed packages, etc., but pies, great quantities of which are made in factories or large bakeries and distributed through grocers, smaller bakeries, confectionery stores and the like, are exposed to contact other carriers of infection.

Owing to the size, shape and weight of the commodity it is not conveniently handled by any of the existing wrapping machines and the applicant has conceived the idea of applying a circular paper blank cut from a suitable web to the top of the pie, the periphery of the blank being pasted or otherwise suitably attached to the periphery of the plate. This ismost convenient y accomplished by using a-Vpaper web coated as to its entire surface, or only partially, with paraffin or other suitable adhesive, as sealing wax or resin, presenting the pies bymeans of a chain or other suitable conve er," s sing the web over the by means of a suitab e die which may be so devised as to carry a circular knife edge for cutting the blanks and a circular pressing surface which is heated either by electricity or a gas jet or other convenient means and adapted to be pressed downward on the edge of the blank, ressin it against the perip cry of the ate an me ting the paraffin or other ad esive so that the edge of th blank is permanently aflixed to the edge i the. plate by the hardening of the parafiin or other adhesive. As the periphery of the plate must be ada ted to be combined with the adhesive, and urther, as the plates must besold with the pies so that they must be made of a cheap material, paper lates or plates of thin metal with a paper ange are As thus outlined, the invention consists in the combination of means for feeding a I Anrann H. Bnanonwith the hands of the attendants as well as to flies, street dust and r ies, cutting t e b anks" paper web, means for presenting the pies in suitable, containers successivel beneath the web, means for cutting circu ar blanks from the web and means for pressing the blanks when out against the periphery of the containers, suitable adhesive being provided for affixing the edges of the blanks to the edges of the containers.

. In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated an apparatus embodying my inventlon in the preferred form.

\ Figure 1 is a sideelevation;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section through the die and support;

Fig. 3 is an elevation partly in section of the rear of the machine showing the paper web and the aper feed;

F s. 4 5, and 7 are detail views;

Re errmg-to the drawings by numerals, the machine consists of a conveyer 1 with suitable cups 2 to receive the pie 3, or more particularly, the pie ,plates 4; paper feeding means 5; a paper web 6 wound on a suitable roll; a die 7', a support 8; means 9 for bringing the die and support into operativerelation; and intermittently operating drivmg means 10 connected to the conveyer and the paper feed.

More specifically, the conveyer consists of a-series of cups 2 connected by links 11 and provided each with a short section of toothed rack 12 to be engaged by the large toothed gears 13 over whlch the chain is passed and V which it is driven. .The gears 18 are rotated by means of suitable connections 11 von the intermittently driven shaft 17, the

other one vertical shaft 16. Of the bevel gears 24, one is on the upper end of the shaft 16'and the other carries a paper feeding roller 25 enlgaging the paper web, 6 which is mounte in the form of aroll on suitable spindles 26 in a bearing 27 provided for that purpose at the rear of the machine. Idler rollers 28, shown as mounted in sliding bearings 29 and pressed toward the roller 25 by means of springs 30 may be provided to give the feeding means a suffi cient grip on the web. The paper, guided by' suitable guide rollers 31 is led from the grip of the rollers 25 and 28 directly over the conveyer and at same time across the for, are the dies 7, the support 8 and the means 9 for moving these parts into and out of their cooperative relation. The intermit tent gearing driving the conveyer is so timed and arranged that each of the cups 2 in turn stops for a predetermined interval directly over the support 8. This support includes a frame 45 mounted to reciprocate on suitable guides 36 and provided with a cutting and supportin ring 37 of width and diameter to engage the flange 38 of each pie late and receive the cutting edge as later escribed. The flanges are preferably of onsiderable width and kept moderately clear of dough,

etc. for the reception of the paste. or adhesive at the edgeof the blank.

In the resent instance, the member w ich is mounted in the path of the moving support, is stationary. I This die member 7 is provided with ajcircular, downwardly disposed knife edge 39 of a diameter slightly in excess of that of the flanges 38 of the plates to be used. The ring 37 is slotted at 41, in alinement with the links 11 to eceive the same when the die and suport are in contact and ins "40 are placed in the die opposite the s ot. The function of the ins, which are slightly longer than the bla e, is to puncture the paper tabs, 5. a, the portions of the paper corresponding to the slots 41, not cut in the operation of the die and lace them in a condition in which the will be easily severed by a slight strain.

Iii addition to cutting the paper and pressing it against the rim of the pie plate, it is desirable, if an adhesive whic is soft-. ened b heat be used as herein provided, that there e some means for h'eatin the suporting, ring 37 orthe correspon in pressin surface 50 on the die, the sur ace 50 being a circular shoulder on the die just inside the knife" which is brought into con,- tact with the paper pressing it against t e rim of the plate at .the upper end of the stroke of the support. For this pu ose I have shown in the present instance a urner 51 consisting of a pipering 52iperf orated to project jets of flame into contact with the 1, the paper feed 5 and the operating means there die 7 ordie.

die metal near the pressing surface 50. The

. ried by a stud 4'8 connected to the frame 45 ofthe support preferably so that the operation of the support may be controlled and cushioned by a spring 49. To this end the stud may be provided with a shoulder 56 and havin I a sliding engagement with the frame 45, t e spiral sprin 49 encircling the studand being between t e shoulder 56 and the bottom surface of the sup ort.

The operation of the mac ine is easily understood from the preamble and descriptiori. Pies as they come from the oven are placed either by hand or automatically in the'cups 2 of the conveyor 1 by which they are carried with a step b step motion into operative relation with t e die 7, each on with the pie therein being caused to dwel for a predetermined period in exact registration with the die. The pa or web is likewise fed forward, preferab y with a step by step motion corresponding to that of the conveyor and at approximately the same speed, the web being drawn'over each pie asit comes to rest in alinement with the cut-- ting elements. In the present instance, the cutting of the blank is accomplished by the stroke of the su port bringing the blank into .contact with t e circular knife blade 39 which forms a part of thedie 7. To this end, the supporting ring 37 which engages the flange 38 of the plate from beneath moving the plate with the pie therein upward against the pa er, is made wider than the flan e on the p ate and extends beneath the bla e so that the paper is forced against the knife edge by the cutting ring. The blade is preferably of a diameter exceeding that of the plate so the blank is bi enough to cover. the plate even when raise at the center by the, pie and moves without detriment over the' edge of the plate.

Corresponding to the cu'tting andisupport above "as soon as it is cut and presses it;

against the top surface of the flange 88 of the plate. In the form of the invention, shown, the. paper is coated zwith some adhesive, as parafiin or'qther'suitable sealin wax or gum or any preferred adhesive which may be softened by heat, andthe ressing surface 50 is maintained at a siiita .le temperature by any convenient heating means as'shown anddescribed. The heat with the pressure applied to the paperhas the effect of causing the paper blank' tofflf adhere to the 13 rim or flange and the withdrawal of the support causes the conveyer which has been slightly lifted by the upward stroke to fall back to its normal alinement. The pie, actuated by gravity, remains in the cup and is thus taken away from the cutters. It is thus also withdrawn from the paper web so that the tabs left by the slots in the cutter provided for the accommodation of the links 11, being duly perforated by the pins 40, are broken and the pie thus wrapped is carried on by the conveyer to a suitable point of discharge, as shown at in Fig. 1.

I have thus described In invention specifically and in detail in or er that its nature and operation ma be fully understood; however, the speci c terms herein are used descriptively rather than in their limiting sense and the scope of the invention is de fined in the claims.

I claim 1. In a machine for covering pies, each pie being presented in a plate, means for feeding paper, means for cutting a blank from the paper to cover the top of the pie and plate and placing the blank on top of the pie with its edges extending beyond the .pie, means for rendering the edge portions of the blank adhesive, means for supporting the pie and plate, and pressing means adapte to engage the edge portions of the blank beyond the pie and press them against the plate, the pressing means being formed to leave the center of the blank free so that it does not press against the pie.

2. In a machine for covering pies, each pie being in a suitable plate with an uncovered projecting rim, means for feeding the pies step by step in a predetermined path, means for feeding a paper web of -a width exceeding that of the pie plates over the path of the pies, a die alined with the path of the web and of the pics with a blade for cutting blanks to fit the rims of the plates, pressing means for pressing the edge of each blank against the rim of the corresponding plate, a support in alinement with the die to engage the rim of the plate, means for pressing the blade, against the support as each pie comes in registration with the cutting means forming a blank which is superimposed upon the pie and late and at the same time pressing the blan against the rim of the plate. and means for rendering the edge of the blank adhesive.

3. In a machine for covering pics, the ies being each in a suitable plate, a die wit a blade adapted to cut a blank to cover the top of the pie and plate, a pressing member concentric with the concentric with the die, said pressing member having a circular zone of contact and being adapted to leave the center of the blank free, a support, means for moving the parts relatively to increase and decrease the distance between the blade and pressing member and the support, means for feeding paper to the die, and means for feeding pies into registration with the die and causing each pie to dwell in alinement with the die during one stroke of the mechanism whereby a blank is cut by the action of the die on the support and pressed against the plate by the relative action of the support and pressing surface.

4. In a machine for covering pics, the pies being each in a suitable plate with a rojecting rim, a die with a blade adapted to cut a blank of the shape and slightly larger than the rim of the late, a pressing member sic, a support, means for moving the parts relatively to increase and decrease the distance between the blade and pressing member and the support, means f or ceding paper to the die, and means for feeding ies-into registration with the die and causing each pie to dwell in alinement with the die during one stroke of the mechanism whereby a blank is cut by the action of the die on the support and pressed against the edge of the plate by the relative action of the support and pressing surface, the paper being coated with an adhesive, and means being provided to heat the edge of the blank so that it sticks to the rim of the plate against which it is pressed.

5. In a machine for coverin pies, the

ies being presented each in a p ate, means ibr cuttin a blank to cover the top of each pie and p ate, means for rendering the edge portion of each blank adhesive, means for pressing the edge portions of the blanks against the plates causing them to adhere, the pressing means being ormed with a circular zone of contact and bein adapted to leave the center of the blank free to avoid pressing the blank against the top of the pie, and means for feeding each pie and plate to said cutting and pressing means and causing each pie to dwell in operative relation to the said cutting and pressing means during the operation of said means and then to move out of the machine.

Si nediiy me at Baltimore, Maryland, this th da of October, 1916.

. KLFRED ll. BRAECKLEIN. Witnesses:

ZELLA KUIIN, EDWIN H. Sawunw. 

